Bluetooth headphones fall into a strange place in the world of listening to music. In most cases, Bluetooth headsets are geared towards communication instead of music. The design is focused on catering to those users who are highly mobile, and there’s not many devices out there that offer Bluetooth audio with a focus on quality music playback. The Subjekt Pulse BT headphones are neither built for communication nor will you be using them during your next jog, but their goal is to produce a good sound.

Subjekt’s Pulse BT headphones are unusual to say the least. The lightweight fixed band design makes the headphones feel rigid and inflexible, but in fact they bend just enough to be comfortable on a variety of heads. The speakers extend down about an inch and a half, and the pads that hold the speakers rock slightly to help conform to the head. The buttons on the sides of the headphones are rubberized and don’t make any sounds when you press them in. Everything else is a sleek, glossy plastic. It makes the headphones much less portable than other headsets, especially if your goal is to stuff them into a bag and use them on the go.

The sound produced is some of the best I have heard coming from a pair of Bluetooth headphones, as long as I wasn’t looking for bass. The mids and highs have actual personality, and the sound doesn’t get tinny until you start playing strictly brass instrumental or very high pitched singing. Even when turned all the way up, there’s very little audio leaking out. The headphones offer basically zero bass, in fact in some songs it felt like the notes were missing altogether. The tone is consistent across many different songs, even when at the limits of the Bluetooth connection. Ultimately, these headphones would rather drop off entirely than produce a lower quality sound, it seems.

The battery life on the headphones is terrific. I was able to stream 14 straight hours of music or movie audio from multiple mobile devices. During standby the headphones could easily go for days. During active communication, such as using the headphones for a Skype call or a Google Hangout, the battery life seemed unaffected. There’s no battery indicator anywhere, so the only way you know your headphones are about to die is when they start beeping in your ear right before shutting down. Subjekt includes a USB to power adapter cable, allowing you to charge the headphones anywhere. When plugged in to a USB 2.0 port, the headphones will fully charge within an hour and a half.

For $80, these headphones are fairly single purpose. They don’t accomplish anything that a pair of normal headphones can’t, aside from being able to connect via Bluetooth. In a world where high-quality audio is so easy to access, these headphones surely aren’t going to attract the audiophiles. They aren’t for joggers, and they don’t stow well. The headphones are clearly set for a niche market of users who aren’t overly concerned about audio quality, but would like a nice wireless experience when watching or listening to something from a mobile device.

At this price, it’s unlikely these headphones will be useful to the average user, but they are still very enjoyable.

Reader Comments

http://www.facebook.com/alex.mcloven.1 Alex McLoven

These are EXACTLY identical to my GoGroove Airband headphones, apart from the coloration and logo. The sound and battery life descriptions are also right on. The GoGroove’s are only $50 (when i purchased them on Amazon) though. Definetely consider the GoGroove’s before these.